Juvenile Chinook salmon were studied by researchers in America, to see if their migratory senses reacted to changes in magnetic field.

Study says magnetic fields may explain other migratory species

Young salmon inherit a "magnetic map" to lead them thousands of kilometres to marine feeding grounds, an American study has found.

Lead author Dr Nathan Putman, from Oregon State University , said: "The challenge is explaining how juvenile animals with no prior migratory experience are able to locate specific oceanic feeding habitats that are hundreds or thousands of kilometres from their natal sites."

The study suggests a combination of magnetic intensity and inclination angle was used by juvenile salmon to find their way to food.

Scientists experimented with changing the magnetic fields around the fish and seeing how they reacted.

Dr Putman said their study of Chinook salmon was comparable with similar findings in sea turtles, and implied that "magnetic maps" are "widespread and likely to explain the extraordinary navigational abilities evident in many long-distance underwater migrants."

The study was published in full in the journal Current Biology.

Image by Zureks.